Khaos Aura - Thorn Bringer (2025)Release ID: 61509

Khaos Aura - Thorn Bringer (2025) Cover
Vinny Vinny / August 24, 2025 / Comments 0 / 0

Turns out I am a sucker for the rawer end of black metal. As much as I can dig (earlier) Enslaved or atmospheric wonders from the likes of Drudkh and even blackened dm from the Akhlys of this world, give me a meat ‘n potatoes black metal record like Thorn Bringer and I am as happy as a pig in the proverbial. With the blazing intensity of Gorgoroth slicing through all in its path, the third album from Norway’s Khaos Aura is not here to show any mercy. In a year that has seen Altar of Woe charge straight to the top of my EOY black metal list, Khaos Aura were always going to be a strong entry on that list.

I would concede that there is at least some melody and alteration of pace present on Thorn Bringer though. As frenzied as it can be, there is also a sense of how well placed some of the blows are. Equally at home in nicking the skin of the listener as they are in slicing through flesh, Khaos Aura are a calculating pair. Building as true a picture of Norwegian black metal as you could hope to see, Thorn Bringer possesses a real venom to it. But instead of just relying on its bite to placate its victims, it is just as at ease coiling and slithering around limbs and into orifices to maximise the potential of its threat.

With lo-fi but not too primitive production values, the album sounds ugly without being alienating. The borderline ambient closing to ‘Sort Vintertrolldom’ contrasts perfectly well with the jangling guitar attack of the track that follows it, ‘An Empire of Unlight’. So, all in all, Thorn Bringer is right up my alley really. It brings the rawness but shows character with it, just as it shows real heart for the good old days of Norwegian black metal. Worth noting that Torkus who handles drums and synths for Khaos Aura also has his own project, Tornekrans which is a little more roughshod than this and is also worth a listen.


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Release info

Release Site Rating

Ratings: 1 | Reviews: 1

4.0

Release Clan Rating

Ratings: 1 | Reviews: 1

4.0

Cover Site Rating

Ratings: 1

2.5

Cover Clan Rating

Ratings: 1

2.5
Band
Release
Thorn Bringer
Year
2025
Format
Album
Clans
The North
Genres
Black Metal
Sub-Genres

Black Metal (conventional)

Voted For: 1 | Against: 0

Khaos Aura chronology